THEME: Merz (Kurt Schwitters)

I just finished reading a terrific book: Destruction Was My Beatrice: Dada and the Unmaking of the Twentieth Century by Jeb Rasula. I've read quite a few books on Dada, but this one is a cut above. The author is a very good writer, and he really pulls the history and influence of Dada together so that it makes perfect sense/nonsense. Highly recommended! And it got me thinking a lot about Kurt Schwitters.

"Merz" was Kurt Schwitters's personal made-up word for the art he did, which included a lot of collage. There are some links to his artwork at the bottom of that Wiki page, or else just google his name and look at his art that way. He did a lot of really beautiful and innovative collage, and was a bigtime collector of what other people called "rubbish" to put in his collages and assemblages. He made the interiors of whole buildings into Merz, long before museum installations or anyone doing that sort of thing.

Get fired up by Schwitters and make a Merz! Try to incorporate some rubbish in your collage. If you don't find the Merz theme appealing, just consider this an open-theme week.

I don't have any Merzoid works in my archives for an example, but I'm sure that Michael Leigh will be able to post a Schwitters homage or two to get us started. (Or not... whatever...) I'm really looking forward to trying my hand at making a Merz!

This is my last theme, you guys. For me, at least, it's been an inspiring two months. =smile= I hope y'all enjoyed it, too. Who's gonna volunteer to be the next Themameister (theme chooser)?